As tension between Mars and Earth mounts, and terrorism plagues the Martian city of Londres Nova, sixteen-year-old David Draper is fighting his own lonely war. A gifted chemist vying for a place at the university, David leads a secret life as a manufacturer for a ruthless drug dealer. When his friend Leelee goes missing, leaving signs of the dealer’s involvement, David takes it upon himself to save her. But first he must shake his aunt Bobbie Draper, an ex-marine who has been set adrift in her own life after a mysterious series of events nobody is talking about. Set in the hard-scrabble solar system of Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War, Chemistry deepens James S. A. Corey’s acclaimed Expanse series.

Let’s just cut to the chase here: it’s a new James S.A. Corey novella; it’s probably gonna be awesome. Seems like a no brainer, to me.

I keep looking at Leviathan Wakes and wondering if I should read it considering the size of it and its sequel (plus there’s been two novellas at this point, right?). *Should* I read it? Am I setting myself up for a never-ending series? I am tempted by the suggestion of awesome space battles and maybe-explosions. Torn.

@Renay — It’s very good. Despite the books looking long, they’re relatively fast reads, so don’t let that deter you too much. And it’s a confirmed trilogy, and the final volume which is done (or near done).

Yeah its called The Butcher of Anderson Station, check Amazon or one of them.
So these Expanse books are pretty good, Shane? Is there cool tech etc? I just finshed Van Name’s first in the Jon & Lobo series and picked up the second, Slanted Jack, pretty cool series.

Kazz – I really like the series so far. Caliban’s War was a much more slow burn and the ending (to which there was a massive build up) was a bit lacking but the series is really more about the characters and in that it excels. One of my favorite aspects is the way the tech is handled. I think Abraham summed it up best when an interviewer asked how his Epstein drives worked ( the drives that made space living / exploration possible in the book), “They work quite well” was his reply – or something to that effect. The tech is there and it’s really neat stuff but the book isn’t bogged down with it and you don’t need a physics degree to understand any of it. The reader understands the tech about as much as a layperson in that time would, which is more immersive IMO. For example, not everyone living today understands how cell phones or wireless internet works, it’s just there and it works. Corey does get into some of it but it’s really more of a “working man’s” sci-fi. I also like how only the solar system is in play. It’s not so far into the future that different galaxies are in the mix, in a way it makes it feel a bit closer to home. Like, this might be what it’s like for my great grandson instead of so far into the future I won’t even be remembered outside of Ancestry.com. There are 2 main stories that push the series, the Mars / Earth / Belt tension & conflict and this Protomolecule thing. I find that I’m much more interested in the former but story tends to focus more on the later.

Right on, Thanks for that, Shane. Yeah I dont want my scifi where you gotta be a physics wizard. lol I’m gonna get to this soon. I have Gibson’s Stealing Light coming in the mail, you read that series?

Not that you’re asking, but I have read all but the most recent Jon and Lobo novel, and am willing to say I rate the expanse series a little higher. I enjoyed both, and like Shane said, the first book takes a bit to get going, but I do think the expanse books are well worth reading.